By Renee Baker (TIS student 2008-2010)

Up until this summer I hadn’t set foot in TIS in years, but this past June, I found myself sitting in the main office five days a week. This odd twist of fate was due to the fact that I had been given a little journalist job – to write articles about TIS alumni and help out with miscellaneous tasks.

Our TIS alumni definitely have a lot of interesting stories to tell, as they have gone on to pursue careers in everything from international business to biotechnology. As for me, I was grateful for the job – yes, of course it will look very nice on my resume, but it was also an opportunity to message old friends and schoolmates whom I hadn’t made contact with in years. Staying in touch with classmates is really difficult after you graduate, especially since everyone becomes so busy, but it’s even more difficult for teachers to catch up with students. I hope that these alumni articles can give mentors and teachers a look at how their old students are doing – maybe even spark a text or reunion.

A little about me since I’ve been off the TIS grid for so long: I entered my third year at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia this fall. I declared my major in cinematic arts as soon as I was enrolled, but I had to complete two years of general education courses, three prerequisite film courses, and an interview with the department heads before I was officially accepted into the film program. I would love to become a music supervisor or video game writer, and while I’m really excited to finally begin learning the skills required to be qualified for those jobs, I’m also glad that I was able to take so many unrelated classes in the past two years. I took a minor in theatre during my first year and linguistics during my second, and the knowledge I’ve picked up because of those is priceless. Theatre taught me how to work with people and how to improvise in spontaneous situations, and linguistics honed my grammar and writing ability. If there’s one piece of advice I could give to new graduates, it’s this: take as many classes outside of your major as possible. Unless you’re in a particularly challenging major (specifically med school), you should have some time to take at least one other class to expand your horizons. Even a course in welding could prove to be useful somewhere down the road!